November 2013 Update - Engine Installation

23 November 2013

Today, Ron Flitton reports that  he has moved the  engine by himself successfully, from the Test Stand to the helicopter and has begun to reinstall the electrical wiring.

Ground Handling

It's a given that every flying machine has to alight sooner or later including the birds, so planning how to secure a helicopter on the ground is a pretty important question to answer early on.

When we first moved to Costa Rica, I  remember dreaming how "neat" it would be to own a light airplane to travel the country. However, when it came time for our first overnight at an isolated airstrip, the awful truth dawned : Other than sleeping under the wing, how could we secure the aircraft against vandalism and theft while we were away visiting the sights ?
But.....as one would have it, a would-be guard came out of nowhere, and after dramatically describing the dangers of leaving the aircraft unattended, he suggested a fee that would ensure that none of the above would happen. At that point, I had two  choices: (1) be a victim of "blackmail"or (2) be a slave to the security of the aircraft.
Idea Light Comes On:  If we wanted to achieve personal air travel in Latin America, there would have to be some thoughtful planning in a light helicopter, that would ensure you could safely land adjacent to secure parking areas.

Now to land, a pilot needs a debris-free 30 foot  circle, and good approaches free of wires. Few actual parking areas have all these prerequisites so it's obvious that in most cases, the pilot will need to move the machine after landing. Wheels are therefore essential.

I should say first that individual landing pads are standard on each gear leg in order to land the machine safely in one place. Wheels by themselves would require brakes, and a tire offers a  much smaller foot print that won't necessarily support the loaded weight of the machine in every landing situation.
So following early prototypes, a light spoke carriage wheel was chosen, that in the air would ride above the landing pad, and on the ground, would be levered through 190 degrees, lifting the landing pad clear.of the ground.  A tow-bar at the front would permit the pilot to lift the forward pad clear, so that the helicopter could be rolled in any direction.
A very important consideration for this operation is speed and reliability for these factors make it possible to choose landing  areas which may normally be thoroughfares for people or vehicles. The shorter the time interval between landing  and  moving, the more parking options  you will have. In tests, the time between disengaging the rotor and moving the  helicopter clear of any other traffic can be under a minute.
 
So, the combination then of landing pads, "quick" wheels and a rotor brake makes landing almost anywhere a possibility,

In this Mosquito"L" feature then --another step toward the goal of "Free Airspace".